The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA) and the Attorneys of Color Caucus (ACLA) present:

“The Second Shift: Fighting for Clients beyond the Courtroom”

Tuesday July 31st

1:15pm – 2:15pm

8th floor conference room

Brooklyn Legal Aid Office

111 Livingston Street

This panel discussion will feature L. Antonia Codling and Vincent Warren. Antonia will discuss the current activism by Legal Aid attorneys around issues of Stop and Frisk, and the shooting of teenager Ramarley Graham in the Bronx. Vincent Warren will discuss the current work being done by CCR around Stop and Frisk.

Antonia Codling is a staff attorney in the Bronx Criminal Defense Practice. Prior to working in CDP, Antonia worked for the Housing Conservation Coordinators, and the Community Law Office of LAS from 1997-2003. Antonia has served ALAA as a delegate from 1997-2000, the ACLA Rep from 2000-2006, and is currently an Alt. V.P. Antonia attended the City College of New York Urban Legal Studies program. While attending City College, she became politically active with the New York 8 (a group of revolutionaries and former Black Panther Party members who had been investigated by the NYPD and FBI counterintelligence units). Antonia has been a member of the December 12th Movement since 1989.

Vincent Warren is the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a national legal and educational organization dedicated to advancing and defending the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Vince oversees CCR’s groundbreaking litigation and advocacy work which includes using international and domestic law to hold corporations and government officials accountable for human rights abuses; challenging racial, gender and LGBT injustice; and combating the illegal expansion of U.S. presidential power and policies such as illegal detention at Guantanamo Bay, rendition and torture. CCR is currently litigating Floyd v. City of New York, a federal class action challenging the NYPD’s use of unconstitutional stops and frisks. Vince also monitored South Africa’s historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings and worked as a criminal defense attorney for the Brooklyn Legal Aid Society. Vince holds a law degree from Rutgers School of Law and a B.A. from Haverford College.

*This event is free and open to all staff and attorneys and interns. This lecture of part of a series being

hosted by ALAA and ACLA in conjunction with the Mentoring Project for Law students of color.*

Tonight, Weds., July 25, 6:30-8 p.m.Farmworker Justice Rally and Post Card Drop Off at ChipotleFor six years, Chipotle has refused to come to the table with Coalition of Immokalee Workers to sign a Fair Food Agreement, securing labor protections for workers in the fields of Florida. Despite all of the promotion of having “sustainable vegetables” and cage-free, anti-biotic free meat, Chipotle is still selling Food WithOUT Integrity.Location: Chipotle at 17th St & Broadway (864 Broadway)RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/334925213256480/

Tonight, Weds., July 25, 7 p.m. (EST)Phone Conference: NATO5 National Campaign planning meetingOccupy Chicago, organizers of the May anti-NATO protests in Chicago and defenders of civil liberties are assembling a coalition of individuals and organizations from around Chicago and the nation.Access: Conference call number for out-of-towners: 218-844-0850, access code 934356#Background: www.nato5.occupychi.orgRSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/412297065482670/

Thurs., July 26, 7 p.m.Revolution and Imperialism in SyriaThe claims of Western governments and mainstream media on the one hand, and those who still believe Assad’s “anti-imperialist” rhetoric on the other, leave much confusion about where the Syrian revolution came from and where it’s going. What is the role of the various forces in the opposition? What would Western intervention mean for the fate of the Revolution?Location: NYU’s Puck Bldg., 295 Lafayette Street, Sociology Dept, 4th floorBackground: www.defendegyptianrevolution.orgRSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/269111349861935/

Tues., July 31, 8 a.m.Drop the Charges Against Jazz HaydenJoseph “Jazz” Hayden is currently facing felony charges – and potentially years in prison – as a result of an unlawful stop and search of his car last December. This stop and arrest was in retaliation for his work as a Citizen Reporter aggressively covering police/community relationships in the Harlem community. (Visit www.allthingsharlem.com/copwatch to view four years of coverage of police community relations in Harlem.)Location: 100 Centre Street in Manhattan, Part FBackground: http://freejazzhayden.wordpress.com/RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/264443250337092/

Sorry ya’ll — I was a little too hasty! Here it is again with the attachment.

Dear All,

Attached is a proposal addressing the matter previously discussed about Assistant District Attorney Justin Marrus. If you wish to be a signatory to this proposal, please let me know and I will add your name. Also, I will be making a motion requesting that the JC adopt the attached proposal at tonight’s meeting. If you want your delegate to support and vote for this proposal, please inform your delegate.

I assisted in the drafting of this proposal and wholeheartedly endorse it, and strongly encourage others to do the same!

Thank you!

Peace,

Antonia

Bronx-CDD

The UAW, 1199 and ALAA were founded upon an enduring vision of social justice, and have a commitment to non-discrimination and speaking out on broader social ills.

For this reason, our unions, which represent staff at The Legal Aid Society, the only unionized public defender in New York City, demand that appropriate action be immediately taken against ADA Justin Marrus for posting photographs of a Confederate flag tattoo, black face and dreadlocks and prison rape simulation on Facebook

These pictures were posted for six years by ADA Marrus and could be viewed publicly until he was recently forced to take them down due to pressure placed on him by District Attorney Charles Hynes.

For the following reasons, ADA Marrus must be held accountable for this behavior:

ONE: The Confederate flag and black face are inherently racist, oppressive and offensive symbols of slavery and post-slavery era in this country. The waving of a Confederate flag, the wearing of blackface and the simulation of prison rape, on government property with state actors’ permission no less, should be considered a “badge and incident of slavery,” within the meaning of the 13th Amendment and its jurisprudence.

No other so-called civilized nation runs a Criminal Justice System like ours, which uses mass incarceration and the death penalty as instruments essentially of terror and social control. Why is that? Slavery. Although the tree of slavery was chopped down between 1861and 1865, its roots remain and are excruciatingly palpable in the Criminal Justice System. Our union is comprised predominantly of attorneys that work within the Criminal Justice System.

We are far from a state of grace, and ALAA and 1199 must bravely be known as a vehicle willing to “speak truth to power” and giving voice to the voiceless, lest we become complicit in the system against which we are fighting.

TWO: Excusing ADA’s Marrus’ posting of inherently racist, homophobic and misogynist photographs as a mistake of “youth,” because he was “only” 19 at the time of the postings rings hollow as the photographs remained until recently, on his Facebook page and during his tenure as an ADA. These pictures could be viewed publicly for six years, from age 19 to 25. ADA Marrus only removed these offensive pictures when he was forced to do so in order to keep his job.

This leads one to believe that but for the outing of these pictures, these pictures would have still remained on ADA Justin Marrus’ Facebook. It demonstrates that this is no indiscretion of youth, but that ADA Marrus still espouses these beliefs.

THREE: Neither ADA Marrus nor DA Charles Hynes made any apology for ADA Marrus’ egregious behavior to the People whom they were entrusted to serve. The lack of apology to the People underscores a context of institutional racism in the Criminal Justice System, including Stop and Frisk, police violence, the drug wars, mass incarceration and the New Jim Crow and we will not turn a blind eye to it. Indeed, our clients receive heavy penalties for minor offenses such as possessing marijuana, riding bicycles on sidewalks or jumping through turnstiles.

Yet, neither ADA Justin Marrus nor DA Hynes have been held accountable for their behavior which is far more egregious than many of the petty offenses for which our clients routinely receive harsh punishment. This apparent hypocrisy is due perhaps to the color of their skin, their position of power and their background of privilege.

FOUR: Ninety percent of those prosecuted are people of color, the very people who ADA Justin Marrus so blatantly showed he has no respect for. ADA Marrus should not be able to have any impact on the lives of people whom he has shown he has racist feelings towards.

ADA Marrus should be stripped of any power allowing him to make decisions on cases where defendants are of color, until he apologizes to the People, until DA Charles Hynes issues an apology to the People and until ADA Justin Marrus receives sensitivity training and/or other appropriate remedial action.

FIVE: It is troubling that the pictures simulating prisoner rape were taken in a jail cell. An inquiry must be made as to how ADA Justin Marrus received access into the jail cell, how he was able to take pictures in the jail cell, especially pictures simulating prisoner rape.

This is intended for everyone at Livingston Street. I am sorry for the mass e-mail and my lack of computer savy. I know a bunch of us are planning to go to the vigil tonight. Do we want to meet up downstairs or something and head up to the Bronx together? If that plan is out there somewhere, let me know!!!

Just wanted to inform you all that the Executive Committee of the 1199SEIU United Health Care Workers East, passed the resolution several of us members submitted to them (with a few edits), condemning the killing Ramarley Graham and the aggressive police tactics and policies that led to it, and pledging support for the ongoing campaign.

Again, I want to encourage folks to attend the last of the weekly vigils tomorrow up at Constance Malcolm’s house (see below).

And while I’m already sending an email out to everyone, I just have to say, I think anyone in the DA’s office should be held to the same unyielding scrutiny they subject our clients. The racism endemic in the criminal justice system has tragic consequences, both big and small, in the lives of million of people around this city every day.

This is a reminder that TOMORROW, Thursday, July 19th will be the LAST of the weekly 18 vigils for Ramarley Graham, who was murdered by the police in his home in front of his grandma and 6 year old brother. His family has been unimaginably strong during this traumatic and awful time as they have planted the seeds of an entire movement, organizing powerful vigils each week in their community, supporting other families who’ve been effected by police violence… Please join us!

18th VIGIL FOR RAMARLEY GRAHAM

749 E 229th Street (right off White Plains Rd), BRONX

2 train to 225th St

5pm and through the evening until 9:30 or 10pm

We will be gathering in front of Ramarley’s home, where he was killed, starting at 5pm, where there will be a community speak out. After this, we will march though the neighborhood, ending at the 47th precinct (the precinct responsible for his murder), where more folks will have a chance to speak. Please, if you can, drop everything and come to this important event tomorrow evening! It will be all night long, so come whenever you can. The family needs our support. Let’s stand with a community that has been devastated by violence — let’s support community led responses to the violence that we fight in the court system each day. Let’s listen to members of this community as they share their perspective with us, in hopes that this strengthens our own perspectives and abilities to effectively advocate in our day-to-day work…

Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about the vigil tomorrow. I hope to see many of you there.

This is a reminder that TOMORROW, Thursday, July 19th will be the LAST of the weekly 18 vigils for Ramarley Graham, who was murdered by the police in his home in front of his grandma and 6 year old brother. His family has been unimaginably strong during this traumatic and awful time as they have planted the seeds of an entire movement, organizing powerful vigils each week in their community, supporting other families who’ve been effected by police violence… Please join us!

18th VIGIL FOR RAMARLEY GRAHAM

749 E 229th Street (right off White Plains Rd), BRONX

2 train to 225th St

5pm and through the evening until 9:30 or 10pm

We will be gathering in front of Ramarley’s home, where he was killed, starting at 5pm, where there will be a community speak out. After this, we will march though the neighborhood, ending at the 47th precinct (the precinct responsible for his murder), where more folks will have a chance to speak. Please, if you can, drop everything and come to this important event tomorrow evening! It will be all night long, so come whenever you can. The family needs our support. Let’s stand with a community that has been devastated by violence — let’s support community led responses to the violence that we fight in the court system each day. Let’s listen to members of this community as they share their perspective with us, in hopes that this strengthens our own perspectives and abilities to effectively advocate in our day-to-day work…

Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about the vigil tomorrow. I hope to see many of you there.

Although I missed the highlights, I am told that last night’s vigil for Rahmarley was powerful, peaceful, and inspirational!

We’re trying to get 40 folks from our organization to join the last vigil (see info below) — please, please, please come out next Thursday for the last vigil. Even if you can only spare an hour or half an hour of your time. Rahmarley’s family would appreciate the support and our numbers — it would mean the world to them.

Yesterday, Lucy Hershel, a paralegal in Queens CDD came and spoke passionately about our work and our commitment to real justice! Mani Tafari, an attorney in PRDU also spoke at the Rahmarley’s house and I’m told “He was ON FIRE” and “It was awesome”! There were @ 6 LASers there last night – please organize some folks in your office to come next Thursday.

Dear union sisters and brothers, if folks aren’t aware, Constance Malcolm, Ramarley Graham’s mother, is an 1199 member, working at a nursing home in Ossining. Some of you may have seen the article about her in the May/June edition of 1199’s magazine.

Jess and I are planning to put forward the following resolution (below) to the 1199 Executive Board that we as a union both condemn the killing but also commit to mobilizing and providing material support for the protests and vigils. If you are an 1199 member and would like to sign on to this proposed resolution, please let me know ASAP.

That being said, I want to encourage folks again to come out to the vigils tonight and next Thursday in the Bronx (see email below)

****************************

Proposed resolution:

WHEREAS, on February 2nd, 2012, in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx, Officer Richard Haste and other members of the NYPD knocked down the door and entered the apartment where Ramarley Graham lived with his mother, 1199 member Constance Malcolm, and shot the 18 year old African American young man in front of his grandmother and 6 year old brother; and

WHEREAS Ramarley Graham was unarmed and Haste had no warrant; and

WHEREAS Ramarley Graham is but one of millions of African American and Latino youth to have fallen victim to racial profiling and aggressive police tactics; and

WHEREAS 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East has put itself forward in the fight against this type of injustice, from the protests for Trayvon Martin to the June 17th March against Stop and Frisk in New York City; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that 1199SEIU condemn the murder of Ramarley Graham, the NYPD’s consistent use of racial profiling to target young people of color throughout the city, and the police policies and practices that set the stage for his killing; and be it further

RESOLVED, that 1199SEIU mobilize its membership for both the July 19th vigil and march in honor of Ramarley at Constance Malcolm’s home in Wakefield, as well as for Richard Haste’s initial trial date on September 13th; and be it further

RESOLVED, that 1199SEIU lend material support and where possible participate in press conferences and other actions to continue to mobilize people in the struggle for justice for Ramarley Graham.

Thank you Jessica for this. I will be attending on the 19th and I hope others will come as well. We all know our reputation in the community and it’s time to change that reputation. Our advocay for our clients extends beyond the court room. This is the perfect opportunity to do both. Also, we as an organization need to voice our horror regarding how this young man was racially profiled and brutally murdered in front of his 6 year old brother and grandmother in his own home.

A reminder that THIS THURSDAY, July 12th, there will be a vigil for Ramarley Graham, who was murdered in his own bathroom by the NYPD. At the first court date for Richard Haste, the cop who executed Ramarley, the NYPD showed up in full-force, literally laughing in the faces of the family. Frank and Constance, Ramarley’s parents, are asking everyone to please come to their home to support their efforts to get justice for their son on Thursday. They have been so strong through this struggle for justice, let’s support them in any way that we can.

Thursday, July 12th from 5pm – 9:30/10pm (arrive at any time)

749 E 229th Street, take the 2 train to 225th Street, walk up White Plains Rd and take a right on 229th (you’ll see the home from the corner)

There are only two more vigils for Ramarley, this Thursday, July 12th and next Thursday, July 19th. Please join us!! Come with friends, come to pay respects to the family, to be a loving presence in the midst of unimaginable loss, and to stand against police brutality & violence. We have been holding weekly vigils every Thursday for 18 weeks, one week for every year of Ramarley’s life. As an LAS Stop Stop + Frisk Union initiative, we are attending the vigils en masse to stand up against NYPD violence and terror, to end racial profiling, and to support a mourning family as they push forward in their fight for justice for their son. Please join us!!

If you have any questions about this initiative, feel free to email me back. If you engage in no other outside-of-work-activism around racist, pre-emptive policing, I can say that supporting the Grahams in their struggle for justice is something you will not regret. The Grahams have consistently simply asked folks to come join us on Thursdays. Your presence will mean the world to the family and community. And let’s show the 47th precinct that they cannot indiscriminately murder children with no response from Legal Aid staff! We hope to see you there on Thursday!!

This is a reminder that THIS THURSDAY, June 28th, we are planning to attend the vigil, rally, and march in honor of Ramarley Graham, who was murdered by the NYPD in his own home, in front of his grandma and 6-year-old brother in the Bronx. Ramarley’s parents, friends, and allies hold weekly vigils that end in a march to the 47th precinct every Thursday in honor of Ramarley’s life. His parents have been incredibly strong in the face of unimaginable trauma, and they are calling on us to simply bring our presence up to the Bronx to support the effort to hold the NYPD accountable for the murder of their son.

As an LAS Stop Stop + Frisk/union initiative, we are planning to attend the vigils en masse on Thursday, June 28th and on Thursday, July 12th, to join in the struggle to hold the NYPD accountable, to end racist policing, and to support a mourning family as they push forward in their fight for justice for their son. Please join us!!

Thursday, June 28th from 5pm – 9:30/10pm (arrive at any time)

749 E 229th Street, take the 2 train to 225th Street, walk up White Plains Rd and take a right on 229th (you’ll see the home from the corner)

If you have any questions about this initiative, feel free to email me back. If you engage in no other outside-of-work-activism around racist, pre-emptive policing, I can say that supporting the Grahams in their struggle for justice is something you will not regret. The Grahams have consistently simply asked folks to come join us on Thursdays. Your presence will mean the world to the family and community. And let’s show the 47th precinct that they cannot indiscriminately murder children with no response from Legal Aid staff! We hope to see you there on Thursday!!

At the most recent LAS Stop Stop + Frisk Action Coalition Meeting, we voted to support the family of Ramarley Graham (who was murdered by the NYPD in his own home), but attending one (or two!) of the weekly Thursday vigils en masse. Please consider marking the calendar and attending the vigil/rally/march to SUPPORT the family of this young man shot dead at 18 years old by the cops. Let’s come together and show our support for this family and community; let’s stand against violence and police murder. The cop who murdered Ramarley was just indicted and he will be in Bronx court on Wednesday. The Graham family continues their fight for justice — against police violence across this city. Join family, friends, community and allies: THURSDAY, JUNE 28th or THURSDAY, JULY 12th!!!! 749 E 229th Street, Bronx. (2 train to 225th street – walk up White Plains Rd and make a right onto 229th. You’ll see us right there…)

The vigils begin at 5pm, but you can arrive at any time. They usually go until 9:30 or 10pm (but you can leave at any time)… Check out this video (you may see some familiar faces!) to hear from Ramarley’s parents about why they are asking folks from all over New York to come support these vigils, and to get a sense of what it has been like:

Choose a Date and Bring Your Group to Support the Struggle for Justice for Ramarley Graham

On February 2, 2012 Ramarley Graham was shot to death in front of his grandmother and 6 yr. old brother by the NYPD. The NYPD broke into Ramarley’s house and shot him in the bathroom where he was allegedly flushing a small bag of marijuana down the toilet. The murder of Ramarley Graham is another example of the stop and frisk terror tactics used by the NYPD when dealing with Black and Brown youth in NYC.

Ramarley’s family has responded with dignity and courage. Every Thursday, from 5 pm on there is a vigil in front of the family’s house and then a march to the 47th police precinct. To date the Bx. district attorney has failed to provide any indication that he will indict officer Richard Haste who fired the shot killing Ramarley. Police Commissioner Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg have only said that an investigation will take place, but how many times have we heard that before?

The Ramarley Graham and Trayvon Martin murders are both examples of the racist attitudes in this country, particularly on the part of police and so called community watchmen like George Zimmerman for whom People of Color look suspicious. It will only end when we, the people, stand up and say there can no longer be any killings of our Black and Latino youth by the police and by white supremacists.

Therefore we are calling on all organizations, unions, co-workers, and even family and friends to support the Ramarley family by choosing one or more Thursdays from May 24 through July 19 to attend the vigil and march from 5 to 9 PM starting at 749 east 229th st. At approximately 7 PM the family will be marching to the 47th precinct. Please bring your flags and instruments in a show of unity between the African American and Latino community. The remaining vigil dates are May 24, 31, June 7,14,21,28 & July 5, 12 & 19. Please choose a Thursday and contact José Alfaro from the Latino Coalition for Racial Justice at joalfaro49@aol.com so we can coordinate with other groups.

A reminder that THIS THURSDAY, July 12th, there will be a vigil for Ramarley Graham, who was murdered in his own bathroom by the NYPD. At the first court date for Richard Haste, the cop who executed Ramarley, the NYPD showed up in full-force, literally laughing in the faces of the family. Frank and Constance, Ramarley’s parents, are asking everyone to please come to their home to support their efforts to get justice for their son on Thursday. They have been so strong through this struggle for justice, let’s support them in any way that we can.

Thursday, July 12th from 5pm – 9:30/10pm (arrive at any time)

749 E 229th Street, take the 2 train to 225th Street, walk up White Plains Rd and take a right on 229th (you’ll see the home from the corner)

There are only two more vigils for Ramarley, this Thursday, July 12th and next Thursday, July 19th. Please join us!! Come with friends, come to pay respects to the family, to be a loving presence in the midst of unimaginable loss, and to stand against police brutality & violence. We have been holding weekly vigils every Thursday for 18 weeks, one week for every year of Ramarley’s life. As an LAS Stop Stop + Frisk Union initiative, we are attending the vigils en masse to stand up against NYPD violence and terror, to end racial profiling, and to support a mourning family as they push forward in their fight for justice for their son. Please join us!!

If you have any questions about this initiative, feel free to email me back. If you engage in no other outside-of-work-activism around racist, pre-emptive policing, I can say that supporting the Grahams in their struggle for justice is something you will not regret. The Grahams have consistently simply asked folks to come join us on Thursdays. Your presence will mean the world to the family and community. And let’s show the 47th precinct that they cannot indiscriminately murder children with no response from Legal Aid staff! We hope to see you there on Thursday!!